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Beet, Squash, and Radish Moroccan Stew Recipe

Beet, Squash, and Radish Moroccan Stew
Difficulty: Easy | Total Time: | Makes: 6 servings

Stew doesn’t need to be thick, meaty, and time-consuming; instead it can be packed with vegetables, healthy, and an easy weeknight meal. Just sauté some onion and garlic with spices, add harissa and root vegetables, and cook for about 45 minutes to infuse all of the flavors and cook the vegetables through. Sweet raisins, honey, and tangy preserved lemons balance things out in this Moroccan-inspired, one-pot, vegetarian dish. Serve it over couscous and top with crunchy almonds and fresh cilantro.

What to buy: Preserved lemons are a popular ingredient in Moroccan cooking. They’re preserved in a salt-and-lemon-juice mixture and are sold in jars. Look for them in gourmet grocery stores and online, or make your own.

Harissa is Tunisian spice paste that ranges in consistency from smooth to slightly chunky and from fiery hot to mild. It’s available in tubes and jars at many Middle Eastern and gourmet markets, or online. You can also make your own.

This recipe was featured as part of our Easy Weeknight Vegetarian Main Dishes.

INGREDIENTS

For the stew:

  • 1 (1 1/2-pound) butternut squash
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, medium dice
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 pound beets, peeled and medium dice (about 3 cups)
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1/3 cup harissa, plus more for serving
  • 1 pound radishes (about 2 bunches), stems trimmed and halved
  • 1 (15-ounce can) chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins, also known as sultanas
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped preserved lemon, or the finely grated zest of 1 medium lemon (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

For serving:

  • 2 cups couscous, cooked according to the package directions
  • 3/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
INSTRUCTIONS
For the stew:

  1. Prepare the squash: Peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler. Trim the top and bottom. Cut the neck from the bulb of the squash. Halve each piece lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Cut the squash into 1/2-inch cubes and set aside. (You will need about 3 1/2 cups. Save any remaining squash for another use.)
  2. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, measured salt, coriander, cumin, and paprika and stir to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic and spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Add the beets, water, and harissa and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beets are slightly softened, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the squash, radishes, chickpeas, raisins, and honey and stir to combine. Return the mixture to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring every 10 minutes and making sure to stir to the bottom of the pot to rotate the vegetables evenly, until the vegetables are fork-tender but still hold their shape, about 45 minutes.
  5. Taste and season with salt as needed. Remove from the heat and stir in the preserved lemon or lemon zest.

For serving:

  1. Spoon the stew over the couscous and sprinkle with the almonds and cilantro. Pass additional harissa on the side.
    Write a review | 3 Reviews
  • Beet, Squash, and Radish Moroccan Stew Recipe
    5

    I thought this turned out amazing! I even forgot to add the lemon. I really don't have a problem with the vegies getting mushy. The beets kept their shape but were not hard for me. Also I loved all the red color!

  • Beet, Squash, and Radish Moroccan Stew Recipe
    2

    I wanted to like this. I had never conceived of a cooked radish, so I wanted to try it. Turns out cooked radishes are not that wonderful. Also, the beets need a lot more than a ten minute lead time to soften. As the squash was disintegrating from cooking, the radishes lot their color, the beets were still too hard. It looks pretty in the picture, and it was pretty in a way (EVERYTHING was red), but when eating something soaked in red from the beets and harissa to the point where every ingredient has lost it's identity, it starts to seem kind of gross as you go along eating. I didn't taste the honey or the golden raisins at all. The red just overpowered everything. also, this made a ton! and I even weighed the squash and radish and beets to make sure I had the exact amount called for. unfortunately I had to throw 2/3rds of it away because we didn't want the leftovers. if I were to make it again, I'd cook the beets separately, roasted. I'd toss them in at the very end so the other things don't get so red. I wouldn't cook the radishes, I'd shave them thin and use them to garnish or something so they'd have some crunch. I don't know if those changes would keep it true to the moroccan stew idea, but it would taste better. On the plus side, it was a reason to find an mediterranean grocery store in the area to acquire preserved lemons and harissa.

  • Beet, Squash, and Radish Moroccan Stew Recipe
    5

    This dish is absolutely delicious. Even though I didn't have a few of the spices and toppings, it came out so scrumptious! I ended up making my own "harissa" with a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (La Costena brand) that I blended with just a splash of water. I also replaced coriander and paprika with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cayenne pepper. I think the addition of these warm spices gave it a stronger "North African" flavour, which is what I wanted. I didn't have any preserved lemons, so I served it wish a squeeze of lemon and instead of couscous, I prepared quinoa. Using pre-cut butternut squash made preparing this recipe so much easier! You won't be disappointed with this recipe, folks. It's finger-licking good.

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